so ronnie turned 8 which was a shock to us both, how and where did 8 years go by, 8 years! and then to top it all off what was then even more of a shock to discover was that shrek, yep shrek that lovely big green ogre, well he burst onto our movie screens 15 years ago, FIFTEEN YEARS!
just last year in july, shreks adventure opened up on londons south bank right along side the iconic london eye and looking straight out over the thames and to the familiar sihouette of big ben. it had taken two years to bring to life this fully immersive fantasy adventure world of shrek and the land far far away. the talented and skilled team of 40 included builders from 20 different trades who lovingly crafted the wonderful sets which had been created and imagined by a team of designers, animators, engineers, artists, script writers, theatre directors and costume designers.
during this wonderful adventure guests are invited to literally play their part in this hilarious world of shrek, fiona, donkey and their other dreamworks pals, the adventure is brought further alive by live actors as they help you through your journey of mayhem and misadventure.
MAGIC 4D BUS RIDE
you are warmly welcomed by the beautiful princess fiona where she sets the scene for a magical journey ahead. guests are then invited aboard a very special tour bus with a destination to a far far away land. however do be aware as donkey is sitting in the driving seat!
you are soon aware that this is no ordinary bus but an amazing (and i really do mean amazing) 4d bus ride. with a combination of state of the art technology, brand new dreamworks 3d animation and multi-sensory special effects you are certainly in for a ride of your life. as the bus soars above the london skyline you look down across its iconic landmarks. from every direction around you some of your favourite dreamworks characters are coming to life, but donkey’s driving is somewhat erratic causing some near misses and some hair-raising moments, however you eventually crash land right in the middle of shrek’s swamp. however this leavesrumpelstiltskin rather furious as when you crash landed you left him one witch down, griselda his favourite and this makes him hell-bent on revenge! you need to run and escape but find yourself…
LOST IN THE SWAMP
you need to find shrek and quick as only he can help you get back home. you manage to find your way to shreks very own dank, squelchy, smelly swamp complete with an ogre-sized toilet, yuk. but where’s shrek’s? well he isn’t home but cinderella is kindly housesitting. cinderella is a little down on her luck and the ex-fairytale princess explains to us all just exactly what we have to do to escape rumpelstiltskin and get far far away from far far away. we leave the swamp and find our way down to the…
SPOOKY FOREST AND RUMPLESTILTSKIN’S CARRIAGE
we all gather inside rumpelstiltskin’s carriage with its spectacular domed roof, flickering candles and a gigantic crystal ball which is presided over by the fortune teller esmeralda. a fellow adventurer steps forward and persuades esmeralda, with some nifty little dance moves, to summon up her magic, and use her crystal ball to help us on our way to the poison apple pub, but we need to move fast as that rumpelstiltskin and his witches are hot on our tails so we leave and head over to…
THE POISON APPLE PUB
inside we are greated by the landlady doris, one of the ugly sisters, and boy is she ugly. she summons the assistance of puss in boots. the famously fearless feline hero appears, brought to life through vivid animation and projection where he ‘coughs up’ a critical clue for us to take with us on our journey. however time is ticking on so before any of the poison apple regulars arrive for a “cheeky half” we head out the back door…
OVER THE RICKETY BRIDGE TO THE GAME SHOW STUDIO
as enter the studio and take our seats we discover that rumpelstiltskin’s horrid henchman, thelonius is the host of the show. pinocchio is suspended in front of us on a deadly rigged ‘wheel of torture’, and we have to answer every one of thelonius’ questions correctly to save the puppet from a grizzly fate and collect our next item which we need for our quest to get back home. taking our prize we are off to our next stop…
THE MAGIC MIRROR MAZE
this maze leads you to the muffin mans house, however it’s not an easy journey, it’s very very confusing and misleading, and then to make matters even worse lord farquaad’s malicious magic mirror teases and misdirects you at every twist and turn throughout the maze trying to stop you getting to your destination, however you are in luck as shrek and donkey know the way through and they do their best to help you through to safely and …
DOWN DRURY LANE TO THE MUFFIN MAN’S HOUSE
here we find tiny gingy the gingerbread man, he guides us along drury lane and into the muffin man’s house, where inside he is stirring up a magical concoction in his giant bubbling cauldron. we add into the bubbling mixtureall of the special items that we have collected on our quest. donkey makes a surprise appearance and throws the final ingredient into the elixir, and a powerful spell is unleashed! however things take a turn for the worse and we find ourselves…
TRAPPED IN THE PRISON
with witches and rats, mind where you sit! and with rumpelstilskin running around the outside of the cell taunting through the prison bars it feels like we might me trapped forever. however in a show-stopping finale shrek appears to save the day, helping us all to find our inner ogres and we blow down the prison walls escaping rumplelstilskin and his witches and quickly make our return home.
we find our way back TO THE ARRIVALS HALL but that’s not the end of the journey as waiting for us is a colourful line up of other dreamworks favourites featured in themed areas bringing to life the worlds of madagascar, kung fu panda and how to train your dragon. during the adventure guests are not allowed to take any photos but here you can get to meet shrek up close and personal and you are free to click away to your hearts content.
you also get to meet madagascar’s fun loving zebra marty before he gets fired from his circus cannon, hang out with the penguins in their airplane and see if you are strong enough to give glamorous hippo gloria a lift! from kung fu panda, hero po is waiting for guests to hone their martial arts skills with him, or they can try some plate-spinning with mr ping in his noodle bar. then it’s time to put on your best berkian armour, look to the skies and marvel at a gigantic model of toothless with hiccup standing proudly on his majestic dragon’s back.
if you fancy joining in the fun of shreks adventure too here are the visitng details:
open monday – friday 11am – 5pm, saturday 10am – 6pm, sunday 10am – 5pm
where to find shreks adventure riverside building, county hall, westminster bridge road, london SE1 7PB, next to the london eye
you can buy tickets on the door but you can make big saving by buying in advance and on line
adult – door price £27.00 online price £18.90
child – door price £21.85 online price £15.30
for further information please visit www.shreksadventure.com, @shreksadventure, https://www.facebook.com/shreksadventurelondon
disclaimer : we were invited as a family to visit shreks adventure free of charge. we were asked to review and to cover our visit both on social media and on this blog. it goes without saying i am always honest and my views and opinions will always be my own.